The Salton Sea (2002)

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writer (WGA):

Tony Gayton (written by)

Release Date:

21 June 2002 (Ireland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

If You're Looking For The Truth, You've Come To The Wrong Place.

Plot:

After his wife is murdered, a man drifts into a world populated by thugs and speed junkies.

Plot Keywords:

Violent Movie | Crystal Meth | Methamphetamine | Heroin | Badger

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Val Kilmer	...	Danny Parker / Tom Van Allen
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Pooh-Bear
Adam Goldberg	...	Kujo
Luis Guzmán	...	Quincy
Doug Hutchison	...	Gus Morgan
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Al Garcetti
Glenn Plummer	...	Bobby
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Jimmy the Finn
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Colette
Chandra West	...	Liz
B.D. Wong	...	Bubba
R. Lee Ermey	...	Verne Plummer
Shalom Harlow	...	Nancy
Shirley Knight	...	Nancy Plummer
Meat Loaf	...	Bo

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, drug use, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

103 min | Spain:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (No. 38029) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:18A (video rating) | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (nf) | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

WILHELM SCREAM: When Kujo (Adam Goldberg) is hit by a bus.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final scene where Danny is being wheeled into the emergency room on a stretcher, there is no wound on his left shoulder, even though Morgan had recently stabbed him there.

Quotes:

Danny: For the people who don't do drugs, or just do them occasionally, it's something that becomes your life, and you belong. You finally hit bottom and you know who you are, because you can't go any lower. When you find... a friendship that you wouldn't have found anywhere else. Still and all, there's a kind of intimacy with those that can go the distance. Sometimes you see the world so clearly...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Spartan (2004)

Soundtrack:

Stars And Stripes Forever

Pretty good

This is a moody, creepy thriller which reminds me a great deal of Philip K Dick's 'A Scanner Darkly' in some respects. Val Kilmer isn't exactly amazing (is he ever?) but he gets the job done. Most of the movie's high points come from the portrayal of the mindset of the drug subculture. Again, I'm reminded so much of PKD's comment about kids "playing in the road" even after they watched their friends getting run over one after another.

A couple of the flashback/hallucination sequences were a little confusing, but I got the general drift. The film has a seedy, nasty, slightly hallucinogenic quality to it. Kilmer seems slightly out of place - not messed up enough. Actually, that ends up making sense, but I won't give anything away.

Not a great film, but different and stylish enough to deserve the 7.2 average it currently enjoys here. That's about what I'd give it.

Also nice to see a drug/crime thriller where everything isn't blowing up every 30 seconds.

Oh, I forgot to mention: there are a few scenes in the film that are really darn funny. How that doesn't ruin the mood of the thing, I don't know, because it's a bit like laughing at a car wreck.